As I posted a couple of days ago we received a sum of $2200 from a claim for dhs military retirement move.
$1000 I have already sent to our ING account for our baby emergency fund! That leaves $1200 left over. We will be owing property taxes on our investment property but since we asked for it to be reviewed with a reassessment we do not know how much it will be. Certainly not the $2600 originally estimated but the lady at the town office hadn't heard as of yet. Also, since we bought our house in July and the bill runs from April to April, we will owe only 9 months of taxes opposed to the full year.
What dh and I will be doing is to start paying down the credit card debt in the mean time. $1000 on the credit card. The remaining $200 will be put aside to go towards our investment property taxes and each payday we will set a certain amount aside as well. Once our property taxes are paid in full this is where our freedom account comes in for our irregular expenses. We will divide up the yearly amount of taxes and each month put in the same amount of money so that by the following April we will be able to pay that off in full.Our Freedom account is also with ING so we will benefit from having the interest added to whatever the amount of money which is in our account YAY!
I am very proud of us because there was a time when dh and I would have said well, lets keep making minimum payments on our bills and spend that $2200 elsewhere, "We" deserve it! We realize now that what "We" deserve is to be debt free,to have freedom and to live a stress free life :). We owe ourselves that much to say the least.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Looks Like We Will Have Our Baby Emergency Fund!
Dh went to finalize his claim for his retirement posting and we didn't use all of the money in which we were intitled to. They let us know yesterday that we will be getting $2200 back!
We still owe property taxes and the credit card not to mention we have no emergency fund .
$1000 is going into our emergency fund with ING and the rest is being put into our other account at our bank which has no debit card access until we find out how much dh is getting back from his commission at work in a couple of weeks and we should have those property taxes paid off in full.
Dh hasn't had a chance to call and find out if we actually owe the full $2600 now after the assessment was redone last week on our investment property.If dh doesn't have time to call tomorrow because of work I will call to find out.
Having an Emergency fund back up and running will be such a relief!
Can you tell that I am doing the "Happy" dance? :) .
We still owe property taxes and the credit card not to mention we have no emergency fund .
$1000 is going into our emergency fund with ING and the rest is being put into our other account at our bank which has no debit card access until we find out how much dh is getting back from his commission at work in a couple of weeks and we should have those property taxes paid off in full.
Dh hasn't had a chance to call and find out if we actually owe the full $2600 now after the assessment was redone last week on our investment property.If dh doesn't have time to call tomorrow because of work I will call to find out.
Having an Emergency fund back up and running will be such a relief!
Can you tell that I am doing the "Happy" dance? :) .
Sunday, November 25, 2007
A Friendly Reminder To Start Thinking Of Your 2008 Goals!
I will be posting mine in a week or so. I am going to take my time with my financial goals opposed to thinking "Oh yeah! I also want to do this and this and this!", I am only going to focus on a couple. I can always add more throughout the year but not until I complete the couple I list, at least for my financial goals.
Personal goals well, I have a couple of those too but again, I have to prioitize.
Who else is thinking long and hard for their upcoming 2008 Goals?
Personal goals well, I have a couple of those too but again, I have to prioitize.
Who else is thinking long and hard for their upcoming 2008 Goals?
Grandma Burks Soft Ginger Snaps
These have got to be the best soft ginger snaps cookies ever! This recipe comes from a very old cookbook which was given to me and was submitted by the Holy Family Church Delia, Alberta.
You can 1/2 this recipe if you like as it makes a lot of cookies or you can do what I do and either roll the dough into balls, use a fork dipped in sugar to press the balls down and either:
(1) freeze dough seperated on cookie sheets and once they are cold enough to keep their shape put into freezer bags to bake up later. I just take them out of their freezer bags and bake them at @ 350 but because they are frozen I leave them in for a few extra minutes.
(2) Bake them up, let cool then freeze cookies and put in freezer bags so that all you need to do is take them out of the freezer and thaw opposed to baking.
Grandma Burks Soft Ginger Snaps
3 tbsp. ginger
1 tsp. black pepper
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups lard ( I use shortening)
1 tsp. salt
4 heaping tsp. soda
2 cups molasses
2 eggs
1 scant cup of water, in which the soda is dissolved.
12 cups of flour
Mix in order. Let cookies ripen. Bake in 350 oven for about 8 to 10 minutes.
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I like to roll these cookies into balls, then roll in sugar and press down with a fork dipped in sugar so that the fork doesn't stick.
You can 1/2 this recipe if you like as it makes a lot of cookies or you can do what I do and either roll the dough into balls, use a fork dipped in sugar to press the balls down and either:
(1) freeze dough seperated on cookie sheets and once they are cold enough to keep their shape put into freezer bags to bake up later. I just take them out of their freezer bags and bake them at @ 350 but because they are frozen I leave them in for a few extra minutes.
(2) Bake them up, let cool then freeze cookies and put in freezer bags so that all you need to do is take them out of the freezer and thaw opposed to baking.
Grandma Burks Soft Ginger Snaps
3 tbsp. ginger
1 tsp. black pepper
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups lard ( I use shortening)
1 tsp. salt
4 heaping tsp. soda
2 cups molasses
2 eggs
1 scant cup of water, in which the soda is dissolved.
12 cups of flour
Mix in order. Let cookies ripen. Bake in 350 oven for about 8 to 10 minutes.
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I like to roll these cookies into balls, then roll in sugar and press down with a fork dipped in sugar so that the fork doesn't stick.
Magic Mix
This is a Pancake or biscuit mix where you don't need to add shortening to the mix. I got this from a very old cookbook which was given to me. The book is so old I no longer have a cover for it but the following recipe did come from St.Teresa of Avila Elmira,Ontario Canada.
Keep this on hand for making a quick batch of pancakes for breakfast or feather-light drop biscuits for dinner.
Magic Mix
6 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. plus 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup instant dry milk powder
2 1/2 tsp. salt.
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the flour, baking powder, dry milk and salt. Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart glass or plastic container. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. Magic Mix will keep for about a month.
Pancakes
In a mixing bowl, beat 1 egg lightly with a fork, then add 1 cup of Magic Mix, 3/4 cup cold water, and 2 tbsp. of melted butter or vegetable oil. Stir just enough to moisten the mix (the batter should be lumpy). Lightly grease a griddle or 12" skillet and heat it over moderate heat until a drop of water dances when sprinkled on it.Using about 3 tbsp. of batter for each pancake, pour the batter onto the griddle, allowing plenty of space between pancakes. Cook until bubbles form and then turn and cook on the other side until golden. Serve with butter and syrup.
You may also want to try one of the floolowing variations:
(1) Just before cooking, stir in 1/2 cup blueberries, washed and drained or 1/2 cup chopped banana.
(2) Stir 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg and cinnamon into the dry ingredients, then just before cooking stir in one peeled, cored and finely chopped tart apple.
(3) When cooking, before turning the pancakes, dot them with 1/2 cup crumbled, cooked milk or hot sausage meat or thin slices of cooked sausage links.
Keep this on hand for making a quick batch of pancakes for breakfast or feather-light drop biscuits for dinner.
Magic Mix
6 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. plus 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup instant dry milk powder
2 1/2 tsp. salt.
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the flour, baking powder, dry milk and salt. Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart glass or plastic container. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. Magic Mix will keep for about a month.
Pancakes
In a mixing bowl, beat 1 egg lightly with a fork, then add 1 cup of Magic Mix, 3/4 cup cold water, and 2 tbsp. of melted butter or vegetable oil. Stir just enough to moisten the mix (the batter should be lumpy). Lightly grease a griddle or 12" skillet and heat it over moderate heat until a drop of water dances when sprinkled on it.Using about 3 tbsp. of batter for each pancake, pour the batter onto the griddle, allowing plenty of space between pancakes. Cook until bubbles form and then turn and cook on the other side until golden. Serve with butter and syrup.
You may also want to try one of the floolowing variations:
(1) Just before cooking, stir in 1/2 cup blueberries, washed and drained or 1/2 cup chopped banana.
(2) Stir 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg and cinnamon into the dry ingredients, then just before cooking stir in one peeled, cored and finely chopped tart apple.
(3) When cooking, before turning the pancakes, dot them with 1/2 cup crumbled, cooked milk or hot sausage meat or thin slices of cooked sausage links.
Biscuit Mix
This is a must have in our house! I usually make drop biscuits with this recipe and when I make say a chicken or beef pot pie I can either just drop by the spoonfuls on top of the pot pie mixture in a casserole dish set on a cookie sheet or if I want my biscuits to be firm on the bottom I will bake them on the cookie sheet beside the pot pie.
Thanks again Katie!
Biscuit Mix
12 cups flour
7 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup shortening
12 tbsp. baking powder
Mix and cut in shortening and store in a ziplock bag or covered container.
To use: 2 cups mix plus enough premade milk (great for using dry powdered milk) to form a soft dough.
Bake @ 400 for 15 to 20 minutes on the middle rack of your oven.
Thanks again Katie!
Biscuit Mix
12 cups flour
7 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup shortening
12 tbsp. baking powder
Mix and cut in shortening and store in a ziplock bag or covered container.
To use: 2 cups mix plus enough premade milk (great for using dry powdered milk) to form a soft dough.
Bake @ 400 for 15 to 20 minutes on the middle rack of your oven.
Brownie Mix
I love having this mix on hand, they are sooooooooo good!
Brownie Mix
6 cups of flour
4 tsp. salt
8 cups sugar
2 cups unsweetened cocoa
2 cups shortening
Cut shortening into flour, Mix in the rest and store. You can either store in a large zip lock baggie or a covered container.
To Use: 2 1/2 cups mix, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix all and turn into greased pan.
Bake @ 350 for 20 to 25 minutes. You can add chocolate chips if you like.
Brownie Mix
6 cups of flour
4 tsp. salt
8 cups sugar
2 cups unsweetened cocoa
2 cups shortening
Cut shortening into flour, Mix in the rest and store. You can either store in a large zip lock baggie or a covered container.
To Use: 2 1/2 cups mix, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix all and turn into greased pan.
Bake @ 350 for 20 to 25 minutes. You can add chocolate chips if you like.
Cake Donut Mix
This recipe I received from an internet friend known as Lambie, She is a Super Person! She has helped me save lots of $ by sharing her frugal mixes with me and among other people.
Thank you Lambie aka Katie!
Cake Donut Mix (3 to 4 times this recipe)
4 1/2 cups of flour 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup dry milk 1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup of sugar 1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp baking powder 1 1/2 cups shortening
Mix all and cut in shortening.
To Use: 2 1/2 cups of mix, 1 egg, 1/4 cup of milk or enough to form a soft dough, 1 tsp vanilla.
Knead till smooth. Pat and roll till 1/2 inch thick and cut with a round glass and use pop lid to cut out the middle hole.
Bake @ 350 on your ovens middle rack for 20 minutes or fry in an electric skillet @ 350 to 375 turning on both sides till golden brown. Make donut bits with centers.
Dip and roll in powdered sugar, sugar and cinnamon mix or you can also spread the top with icing sugar with sprinkles on top.
These donuts are not fluffy, they are like a cake donut. When I make these I make them about 1 inch thick as we like ours a bit bigger but you can adjust it to your liking :)
Thank you Lambie aka Katie!
Cake Donut Mix (3 to 4 times this recipe)
4 1/2 cups of flour 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup dry milk 1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup of sugar 1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp baking powder 1 1/2 cups shortening
Mix all and cut in shortening.
To Use: 2 1/2 cups of mix, 1 egg, 1/4 cup of milk or enough to form a soft dough, 1 tsp vanilla.
Knead till smooth. Pat and roll till 1/2 inch thick and cut with a round glass and use pop lid to cut out the middle hole.
Bake @ 350 on your ovens middle rack for 20 minutes or fry in an electric skillet @ 350 to 375 turning on both sides till golden brown. Make donut bits with centers.
Dip and roll in powdered sugar, sugar and cinnamon mix or you can also spread the top with icing sugar with sprinkles on top.
These donuts are not fluffy, they are like a cake donut. When I make these I make them about 1 inch thick as we like ours a bit bigger but you can adjust it to your liking :)
I joined BlogRush!
It is free and helps to bring more traffic to your blog! There are different subject areas that you can classify your blog with blogrush when joining. I joined under the finance section as I am trying to pick up ideas on investing, debt payoffs,goals etc...
When I joined and upon approval they issued me this link www.blogrush.com/r12433712 as a referral. You can copy and paste it to your web address bar at the top of your page to find out more information or to join if you like :).
I am excited to see how many times my blog will be put on others...
If you decide to check it out let me know what you think ok? I will update in a couple of days with my experience with blogrush as I have only just joined but it looks like this is going to be fun!
When I joined and upon approval they issued me this link www.blogrush.com/r12433712 as a referral. You can copy and paste it to your web address bar at the top of your page to find out more information or to join if you like :).
I am excited to see how many times my blog will be put on others...
If you decide to check it out let me know what you think ok? I will update in a couple of days with my experience with blogrush as I have only just joined but it looks like this is going to be fun!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
How to save Money.
The key to this success if you havn't already done so is to change your habits. Start with trying "one" new savings idea opposed to several. Give yourself time to adjust.
Financial Goals are a great example. I know that if you are anything like me there are several goals which can be listed. It can become overwhelming to think or even write down your goals while all along thinking.....so many goals, not enough money to contribute to each and make an impact. What do you do in a case like this? It is called "Prioritize".
Ask yourself what is a "Must save for now" and what is a "Must save for soon". You need and want to pay off your debt but at the same time you need an emergency fund while all along you are also wanting to plan for a trip for next year with your family. Wow! decissions decissions eh?
Dh and I are at the point where we need to figure out what will work for us. I feel like we are going in circles. What we are considering changing is this:
(1) I picked up a part time job and have been putting that extra money towards our debt pay off. I am going to switch things up a bit and keep paying debt as if we don't have my income. I will start taking my income and putting into our ING account towards our emergency fund.
(2) Now comes the "fun" part. After the emergency fund has been funded with a minimum of $1000 I will be taking 1/2 of my pay to go towards our fun money and put the other 1/2 towards paying down debt again. Say for example I can put aside $200 a month for our fun money, it doesn't mean that we have to spend all of our fun money at once.That is a lot of money compared to what we have been spending. It is an idea to at least try.
So, we want to pay off our debt,still enjoy living in the present while all along planning for our future. We are trying to figure out a way to really have it all.
What are you all doing?
Financial Goals are a great example. I know that if you are anything like me there are several goals which can be listed. It can become overwhelming to think or even write down your goals while all along thinking.....so many goals, not enough money to contribute to each and make an impact. What do you do in a case like this? It is called "Prioritize".
Ask yourself what is a "Must save for now" and what is a "Must save for soon". You need and want to pay off your debt but at the same time you need an emergency fund while all along you are also wanting to plan for a trip for next year with your family. Wow! decissions decissions eh?
Dh and I are at the point where we need to figure out what will work for us. I feel like we are going in circles. What we are considering changing is this:
(1) I picked up a part time job and have been putting that extra money towards our debt pay off. I am going to switch things up a bit and keep paying debt as if we don't have my income. I will start taking my income and putting into our ING account towards our emergency fund.
(2) Now comes the "fun" part. After the emergency fund has been funded with a minimum of $1000 I will be taking 1/2 of my pay to go towards our fun money and put the other 1/2 towards paying down debt again. Say for example I can put aside $200 a month for our fun money, it doesn't mean that we have to spend all of our fun money at once.That is a lot of money compared to what we have been spending. It is an idea to at least try.
So, we want to pay off our debt,still enjoy living in the present while all along planning for our future. We are trying to figure out a way to really have it all.
What are you all doing?
I changed my blog fonts and colours
I was getting tired of the lime green and white colours so thought I would change them.
What do you all think?
I am not a computer whiz, I don't even know how to download pictures on here lol. I really would love to have a digetal camera but I don't think that will happen for a bit yet.
Well, I am off to double check these colours :) .
Editing to add that I figured out how to add a picture lol.
What do you all think?
I am not a computer whiz, I don't even know how to download pictures on here lol. I really would love to have a digetal camera but I don't think that will happen for a bit yet.
Well, I am off to double check these colours :) .
Editing to add that I figured out how to add a picture lol.
Feeling and looking Great on the Cheap.
First of all, What do you all do to feel and look Great without breaking the bank while paying down debt and living the frugal life? Do you ever feel like you are in a rut? Where do you turn when you want to just give yourself a little boost?
I started shopping in my home first of all. I have had a small bottle of expensive perfume which I received as a Christmas Present about 3 years ago and kept in my dresser drawer, never used. I have always just used the spray cologne.I decided to treat myself and I dabbed a bit of the perfume on my wrists and along my jaw line opposed to behind my ears before going to work yesterday morning and the scent was there all day!
Do you ever do that? Have certain things which were given to you as a gift and for whatever reason you don't even open the box it is in? You maybe set it aside thinking one day maybe? I even have two foot spas! One I took out of the box about 8 months ago to try but for some reason I couldn't figure out how much water to put in it etc lol guess I was in too much of a hurry to take my time back then.....The other has never been opened. So, both have never been used. What a waste! I will be using the one which is already opened this weekend.....the other I will let my teenaged dds use.
I havn't used nail polish since this past summer and decided to use a light shade of my dds.WOW! I feel like a million bucks! I gave myself a manicure to boot, usually I just use the nail clippers and off I go. Oh, and don't forget your toe nails!
I usually only wear mascara when going out, if that. I had some light lipstick and a lip gloss which I had bought last year and had used only once.I felt like my makeup was complete the other day when I started using it again to go to work. You have to be careful with using outdated makeup but my lipstick and gloss were still ok.
Putting aside shopping from home, I went and paid to get my hair cut yesterday before supper. It cost me $16 as I went to a small home business salon. I can cut my own hair but I wanted a few layers added which is hard for me to do as I tend to over extend the layers thus it becomes slightly uneven not to mention that my arms feel like weights while doing this. I asked the stylist for a shampoo and cut, I did not need her to dry it this saved me and extra $2. The last time I went to a hairdresser was about 3 1/2 to 4 years ago so this was truly a treat for me :).
Do You have anything that you could shop for in your home? What do you do on the cheap/frugal for "You"? I would love to know :).
I started shopping in my home first of all. I have had a small bottle of expensive perfume which I received as a Christmas Present about 3 years ago and kept in my dresser drawer, never used. I have always just used the spray cologne.I decided to treat myself and I dabbed a bit of the perfume on my wrists and along my jaw line opposed to behind my ears before going to work yesterday morning and the scent was there all day!
Do you ever do that? Have certain things which were given to you as a gift and for whatever reason you don't even open the box it is in? You maybe set it aside thinking one day maybe? I even have two foot spas! One I took out of the box about 8 months ago to try but for some reason I couldn't figure out how much water to put in it etc lol guess I was in too much of a hurry to take my time back then.....The other has never been opened. So, both have never been used. What a waste! I will be using the one which is already opened this weekend.....the other I will let my teenaged dds use.
I havn't used nail polish since this past summer and decided to use a light shade of my dds.WOW! I feel like a million bucks! I gave myself a manicure to boot, usually I just use the nail clippers and off I go. Oh, and don't forget your toe nails!
I usually only wear mascara when going out, if that. I had some light lipstick and a lip gloss which I had bought last year and had used only once.I felt like my makeup was complete the other day when I started using it again to go to work. You have to be careful with using outdated makeup but my lipstick and gloss were still ok.
Putting aside shopping from home, I went and paid to get my hair cut yesterday before supper. It cost me $16 as I went to a small home business salon. I can cut my own hair but I wanted a few layers added which is hard for me to do as I tend to over extend the layers thus it becomes slightly uneven not to mention that my arms feel like weights while doing this. I asked the stylist for a shampoo and cut, I did not need her to dry it this saved me and extra $2. The last time I went to a hairdresser was about 3 1/2 to 4 years ago so this was truly a treat for me :).
Do You have anything that you could shop for in your home? What do you do on the cheap/frugal for "You"? I would love to know :).
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Our Investment Property Taxes Will Be Going Down
YAY! We had a new tax bill come out for our investment property a few months ago and we had just bought this place this past June. The taxes went from $1700 a year up to $2600 a year. They had assessed the house for $124,000 but when we had it appraised by the same office it was valued at $88,000. I found that odd and when I called their office the lady who answered the phone said that the assessment was what the house is worth and the amount you could sell the house for. I tried to tell her that she has the assessment and appraisal mixed up lol.
The house needs a lot of work but it is solid and sound. It was listed by the real estate agent for $95,000 and we actually got it for $82,500 as the owner was retiring and he and his wife were waiting to hop in their Rv to travel for a year around North America. the house was used as a rental prior to selling. The renters really did a number on the inside of this house, holes in the wall, the toilets and sinks are ok but not by much, we need to replace them, new windows etc...I guess the unobstructed ocean view, walk out basement over looking this as well, triple sized in town lot etc make up for it lol.
We had told the municiple taxation people that the taxes were way to high and we were appealing their decission. Well, they went yesterday and the tax man said that whoever had done the assessment must have parked down at the bottom of our driveway (it is 400ft long) and just taken a picture from there. He is going to have our taxes lowered....YAY!!!!
Dh and I will be calling one day this week to see what we will officially owe on our taxes.
I need to find a book/information for Canada regaurding what is claimable for tax purposes when owning an investment property.
I am so Happy that we had asked for them to recheck the taxes....this will save us quite a bit of money for now anyhow I am thinking.
March Break I will be going down to see about painting and patching up any holes in the wall. We owe $61,000 on this property and house prices down that way are still climbing. Dh and I have only seen pictures of this house but we had an inspecter go in prior to purchasing and the real estate agent is a good friend of the families whom we have known for years. My mother fell in love with the house and their quality of life has shot way up compared to the house they were living in before. My parents also rented out their house as it was not selling and after their mortgage,taxes and renters insurance are paid they have an extra $30 from the rent money.
The house needs updating but all in all this was a very good investment, especially since this was our first time.
The house needs a lot of work but it is solid and sound. It was listed by the real estate agent for $95,000 and we actually got it for $82,500 as the owner was retiring and he and his wife were waiting to hop in their Rv to travel for a year around North America. the house was used as a rental prior to selling. The renters really did a number on the inside of this house, holes in the wall, the toilets and sinks are ok but not by much, we need to replace them, new windows etc...I guess the unobstructed ocean view, walk out basement over looking this as well, triple sized in town lot etc make up for it lol.
We had told the municiple taxation people that the taxes were way to high and we were appealing their decission. Well, they went yesterday and the tax man said that whoever had done the assessment must have parked down at the bottom of our driveway (it is 400ft long) and just taken a picture from there. He is going to have our taxes lowered....YAY!!!!
Dh and I will be calling one day this week to see what we will officially owe on our taxes.
I need to find a book/information for Canada regaurding what is claimable for tax purposes when owning an investment property.
I am so Happy that we had asked for them to recheck the taxes....this will save us quite a bit of money for now anyhow I am thinking.
March Break I will be going down to see about painting and patching up any holes in the wall. We owe $61,000 on this property and house prices down that way are still climbing. Dh and I have only seen pictures of this house but we had an inspecter go in prior to purchasing and the real estate agent is a good friend of the families whom we have known for years. My mother fell in love with the house and their quality of life has shot way up compared to the house they were living in before. My parents also rented out their house as it was not selling and after their mortgage,taxes and renters insurance are paid they have an extra $30 from the rent money.
The house needs updating but all in all this was a very good investment, especially since this was our first time.
Monday, November 19, 2007
I am starting to feel the Freedom!
With our debt being paid off with such intensity I know that it will be a matter of only a few short months until we are yet again debt free except for the mortgage which we will focus on paying that down/off as well.
As long as we have no debt we will be ok. I had posted an Entry not to long ago about a possible job loss for Dh. It was so out of the blue and we would have been in such a mess had this happened with the debt we needed to pay off. I will not be taking this for granted. With dhs military pension and my 80 minutes a day with my job we will be ok should a job loss occur in the future but not for the long haul,and again, we will have to be debt free for that to work.
I have always been one to cook from scratch and I love to bake, I have found a lot of frugal recipe ideas on the internet as well. A great website to visit for Excellent ideas for scratch cooking and emergency menus etc is at Hillbilly Housewife .
We could have taken the easy route and taken equity out of our investment property to pay off our debt however, Dh and I strongly felt that by doing this would only defeat our purpose of getting ahead and being accountable for our mess. I would rather embrace frugal living and pay down our debt by living below our means. Prior to selling our last house we had refinanced and taken out equity. We used most of the money to buy our investment property although other bits of the money just seemed to "dissapear" along the way. Lesson learned there.
We are on the right track, I am so thankful. It is so true when one thinks about how it can take only minutes to go into debt but yet it can take months if not years to pay those few minutes off.
Happy Monday Everyone!
As long as we have no debt we will be ok. I had posted an Entry not to long ago about a possible job loss for Dh. It was so out of the blue and we would have been in such a mess had this happened with the debt we needed to pay off. I will not be taking this for granted. With dhs military pension and my 80 minutes a day with my job we will be ok should a job loss occur in the future but not for the long haul,and again, we will have to be debt free for that to work.
I have always been one to cook from scratch and I love to bake, I have found a lot of frugal recipe ideas on the internet as well. A great website to visit for Excellent ideas for scratch cooking and emergency menus etc is at Hillbilly Housewife .
We could have taken the easy route and taken equity out of our investment property to pay off our debt however, Dh and I strongly felt that by doing this would only defeat our purpose of getting ahead and being accountable for our mess. I would rather embrace frugal living and pay down our debt by living below our means. Prior to selling our last house we had refinanced and taken out equity. We used most of the money to buy our investment property although other bits of the money just seemed to "dissapear" along the way. Lesson learned there.
We are on the right track, I am so thankful. It is so true when one thinks about how it can take only minutes to go into debt but yet it can take months if not years to pay those few minutes off.
Happy Monday Everyone!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Another Debt Bites the Dust!
YAY!!! We paid off our Mortgage broker yesterday. Now we have to pay off the Investment property taxes which should be in a couple of more weeks!
Because we have been going with such intensity on paying down/off our debt we decided to take a break and pay the minimum payment on the credit card until after Christmas. I went out and spent about $150 at once on groceries opposed to dividing it up to $75 a week, I had a blast too!
We have also started to purge through our clutter although my weakness really are books. I have so far 3 boxes to donate to our local library. I have no ornaments or clothes etc to donate to the salvation army as I do not have many. I do not care for ornaments as that means extra time dusting, I only shop for clothes at value village and pick up what I need at walmart for personal items about once a year so I really don't have much in the line of clutter there.
I saw Thursday and Fridays show on Oprah about a lady who hordes and I thank God that I don't have that problem, my heart really broke for her and her family.They did a wonderful service by appearing on Oprah even though it was hard on them. I started thinking of the books which I kept telling myself that I would take over to the library for example.
Monday I have to list 3 things in which I would like for Christmas for our Christmas party at work on December 7th. I can only think of 2 items which I really would like for Christmas gifts and that is a pair of oven mitts or an apron. I honestly cannot think of a third.
Well, it is Saturday night and Dh and I are invited to visit with a lady I work with and her husband. It is his 51st birthday. We even picked up a few beer to take :). They live within walking distance I should add as we do not drink and drive.
Ohhhhhhhh, also, I picked up this past week an extra 9 hours total @ $16.29 an hour. The school board also pays me my vaction pay and a couple of other little things on top of that on my paycheques. I am hoping to pick up some more extra hours next week but we shall see. It is great because I work at the school my 2 dd's go to :).
I am waiting for my contract to be signed, hopefully sooner than later. I love having a job in which when school is out so am I lol, although if I work after school I am sometimes there until 5:15 p.m but still I have my evening,weekends and holidays off. My friend even told me that they thanked her for recommending me as I fit right in and I am such an asset. Ok, I will stop now as my head is going to start swelling any moment lol.
Well, I had better start getting ready for our big outing this evening. Dh and I very rarely go out so I am extra excited :).
Have a Super weekend Everyone!
Because we have been going with such intensity on paying down/off our debt we decided to take a break and pay the minimum payment on the credit card until after Christmas. I went out and spent about $150 at once on groceries opposed to dividing it up to $75 a week, I had a blast too!
We have also started to purge through our clutter although my weakness really are books. I have so far 3 boxes to donate to our local library. I have no ornaments or clothes etc to donate to the salvation army as I do not have many. I do not care for ornaments as that means extra time dusting, I only shop for clothes at value village and pick up what I need at walmart for personal items about once a year so I really don't have much in the line of clutter there.
I saw Thursday and Fridays show on Oprah about a lady who hordes and I thank God that I don't have that problem, my heart really broke for her and her family.They did a wonderful service by appearing on Oprah even though it was hard on them. I started thinking of the books which I kept telling myself that I would take over to the library for example.
Monday I have to list 3 things in which I would like for Christmas for our Christmas party at work on December 7th. I can only think of 2 items which I really would like for Christmas gifts and that is a pair of oven mitts or an apron. I honestly cannot think of a third.
Well, it is Saturday night and Dh and I are invited to visit with a lady I work with and her husband. It is his 51st birthday. We even picked up a few beer to take :). They live within walking distance I should add as we do not drink and drive.
Ohhhhhhhh, also, I picked up this past week an extra 9 hours total @ $16.29 an hour. The school board also pays me my vaction pay and a couple of other little things on top of that on my paycheques. I am hoping to pick up some more extra hours next week but we shall see. It is great because I work at the school my 2 dd's go to :).
I am waiting for my contract to be signed, hopefully sooner than later. I love having a job in which when school is out so am I lol, although if I work after school I am sometimes there until 5:15 p.m but still I have my evening,weekends and holidays off. My friend even told me that they thanked her for recommending me as I fit right in and I am such an asset. Ok, I will stop now as my head is going to start swelling any moment lol.
Well, I had better start getting ready for our big outing this evening. Dh and I very rarely go out so I am extra excited :).
Have a Super weekend Everyone!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Good,The Bad, The Ugly And The Future
The Good : Payday is in 3 more Days! Why am I excited? Because another debt bites the dust! The last $500 left owing to our mortgage broker will be paid in full!
Dh and I will have paid out $3800 on our debt in 9 weeks by cutting back to the bare basics,becoming "Really" creative, me picking up a part time job and of course we did end up skipping one mortgage payment which we had never done before.
The Bad : Dh last week had to go on a business trip. He deposited 2 cheques into our bank account from his boss to travel with and our bank put a hold on one of them as it was deposited through our debit machine. What little bit of money I had set aside in our account dh needed to put gas in the truck his boss had rented.He didn't call his boss as it was late in the evening when he discovered this. I have been dipping into the change jar as I did not do a complete grocery shop, well, with what I had left over to work with.
The Ugly: Dh used the credit card to pay for his hotel while on his business trip because of the reason above. It was that or he would have been sleeping in the truck for the night. I have to change the total owing on the credit card now as soon as dh calls for the total balance. Dh has not finalized his claim for this last trip so whatever his boss owes him will go onto the credit card.
The Future : I can see us having the credit card paid off in full within 3 to 4 months and then we will be living debt free except for the mortgage and regular living expenses. I miss this way of living that is a given! We have had this taste of freedom and all I can say is We definately want it back! :)
Now, with what little I did pick up for groceries and personal items guess what I ended up forgetting this time around? Shampoo! You can just imagine my horror yesterday morning getting ready for work and realizing we were out of this. I ended up coming up with the idea to use sunlight dish detergent which by the way I would not recommend lol, but in a pinch it does the trick as long as you have conditoner and I guess you could say my hair was "squeaky" clean. My payday is in 2 more days so I will only have to do this again once until then. I guess this would be called "making due" until then.
Again, trial and error will make us stronger :). I used up my last 2 eggs last night to make a double batch of sugar cookies with sprinkles for lunches over the next couple of days. I also still have 2 double packs of jello to make up along with some apples. I had gone back to store bought bread but will have to make up a few loaves of homemade this evening as we are almost out. I finally got the hot chocolate mix done up as well so I don't have to worry about snacks for everyones lunches.
I am thinking of taking $150 from my pay to spend on our groceries. I however won't be getting any convenience foods out of that as that takes up too many precious dollars,not that I have been doing that anyhow. I think that I will however divide that money up and grocery shop once a week with $75 opposed to shopping at one time for the two weeks. I find that I tend to run out of something or another when I spend it all up at once.
To help me stay accountable I will post my groceries on here and the price I have spent on them. I live in Canada some of the food will be priced higher then in the U.S.A. I should be doing this either Thursday evening or Friday afternoon.
So, there you have it. The good, the bad, the ugly and the future.
Dh and I will have paid out $3800 on our debt in 9 weeks by cutting back to the bare basics,becoming "Really" creative, me picking up a part time job and of course we did end up skipping one mortgage payment which we had never done before.
The Bad : Dh last week had to go on a business trip. He deposited 2 cheques into our bank account from his boss to travel with and our bank put a hold on one of them as it was deposited through our debit machine. What little bit of money I had set aside in our account dh needed to put gas in the truck his boss had rented.He didn't call his boss as it was late in the evening when he discovered this. I have been dipping into the change jar as I did not do a complete grocery shop, well, with what I had left over to work with.
The Ugly: Dh used the credit card to pay for his hotel while on his business trip because of the reason above. It was that or he would have been sleeping in the truck for the night. I have to change the total owing on the credit card now as soon as dh calls for the total balance. Dh has not finalized his claim for this last trip so whatever his boss owes him will go onto the credit card.
The Future : I can see us having the credit card paid off in full within 3 to 4 months and then we will be living debt free except for the mortgage and regular living expenses. I miss this way of living that is a given! We have had this taste of freedom and all I can say is We definately want it back! :)
Now, with what little I did pick up for groceries and personal items guess what I ended up forgetting this time around? Shampoo! You can just imagine my horror yesterday morning getting ready for work and realizing we were out of this. I ended up coming up with the idea to use sunlight dish detergent which by the way I would not recommend lol, but in a pinch it does the trick as long as you have conditoner and I guess you could say my hair was "squeaky" clean. My payday is in 2 more days so I will only have to do this again once until then. I guess this would be called "making due" until then.
Again, trial and error will make us stronger :). I used up my last 2 eggs last night to make a double batch of sugar cookies with sprinkles for lunches over the next couple of days. I also still have 2 double packs of jello to make up along with some apples. I had gone back to store bought bread but will have to make up a few loaves of homemade this evening as we are almost out. I finally got the hot chocolate mix done up as well so I don't have to worry about snacks for everyones lunches.
I am thinking of taking $150 from my pay to spend on our groceries. I however won't be getting any convenience foods out of that as that takes up too many precious dollars,not that I have been doing that anyhow. I think that I will however divide that money up and grocery shop once a week with $75 opposed to shopping at one time for the two weeks. I find that I tend to run out of something or another when I spend it all up at once.
To help me stay accountable I will post my groceries on here and the price I have spent on them. I live in Canada some of the food will be priced higher then in the U.S.A. I should be doing this either Thursday evening or Friday afternoon.
So, there you have it. The good, the bad, the ugly and the future.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Christmas is Coming, Ready or Not!
Christmas will soon be upon us! Lynnae whose blog is being frugal has a wonderful entry "50 Frugal Christmas Ideas"
Please check out her blog, I am sure that you will become as addicted to her frugal lifestyle and ideas as I have :)
Dh and I will be taking off the month of December from paying down debt to making minimum payments only...although, Dh will be getting a commission cheque from work which we are praying will pay off our investment property taxes in full!
Over the past couple of years I do a gift bag for my children opposed to using a basket. I will definately be doing this again this year. For dd 14 I will be doing up a book lovers gift bag. I will be buying her a couple of books from a website called bookcloseouts I will add a pretty, maybe even a homemade bookmark and a bag of her favorite candy fuzzy peaches, a book light possibly, and I think that I will include a stuffed animal (kitten) in there to keep her company while she reads lol. The reason being for the stuffed kitty is because she has mentioned that she would like a kitten but we already have two cats so that is out of the question :). I think that I will also include a notebook of sorts and pretty pen so that she can jot down any ideas for writing a book of her own :)
I also found a link "Fabulous Gift Basket Ideas" lots of great ideas there.
Now for dd 16. I will do her a salon pack gift bag. Which can be found at the above link for gift basket ideas #29.
Ds will receive a young mans survival bag. I could put cologne, socks, gloves, scarf,and a movie, all from the flea market along with a snack,and a phone card.
I will be doing dh a road trip gift bag idea #51, again found at the above link for gift basket ideas, I will not however be adding hotel coupons ,tire gauge as he already has one or a beaded seat cover.
Our kids each receive one more gift along with their stockings. Any money we receive from family members is divided up between the kids which they can use to shop for any boxing day sales if they choose.
Christmas isn't just about giving and receiving presents. I like to sit down with my family over the holidays and discuss the true meaning of Christmas. We are celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus and how God gave us such a gift when he sent us his son.
Please check out her blog, I am sure that you will become as addicted to her frugal lifestyle and ideas as I have :)
Dh and I will be taking off the month of December from paying down debt to making minimum payments only...although, Dh will be getting a commission cheque from work which we are praying will pay off our investment property taxes in full!
Over the past couple of years I do a gift bag for my children opposed to using a basket. I will definately be doing this again this year. For dd 14 I will be doing up a book lovers gift bag. I will be buying her a couple of books from a website called bookcloseouts I will add a pretty, maybe even a homemade bookmark and a bag of her favorite candy fuzzy peaches, a book light possibly, and I think that I will include a stuffed animal (kitten) in there to keep her company while she reads lol. The reason being for the stuffed kitty is because she has mentioned that she would like a kitten but we already have two cats so that is out of the question :). I think that I will also include a notebook of sorts and pretty pen so that she can jot down any ideas for writing a book of her own :)
I also found a link "Fabulous Gift Basket Ideas" lots of great ideas there.
Now for dd 16. I will do her a salon pack gift bag. Which can be found at the above link for gift basket ideas #29.
Ds will receive a young mans survival bag. I could put cologne, socks, gloves, scarf,and a movie, all from the flea market along with a snack,and a phone card.
I will be doing dh a road trip gift bag idea #51, again found at the above link for gift basket ideas, I will not however be adding hotel coupons ,tire gauge as he already has one or a beaded seat cover.
Our kids each receive one more gift along with their stockings. Any money we receive from family members is divided up between the kids which they can use to shop for any boxing day sales if they choose.
Christmas isn't just about giving and receiving presents. I like to sit down with my family over the holidays and discuss the true meaning of Christmas. We are celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus and how God gave us such a gift when he sent us his son.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Whoowhoooooo, I am soooooo excited!
I can't believe my luck! I was putting away some clothes on my dresser last evening ( dh did the laundry :) ) and guess what I came across????? a cheque from the cablevision company we were dealing with at our old address for $100! When we had joined their co-op each member paid $100 and they receive it whenever they move or cancel. I had seen it last week but was so preoccupied with everything I forgot all about it! I am usually on top of things like that, especially when it comes to placing our money.
Anyhow, our dds school pictures came in this past Friday and I hadn't put money aside for them , I had thought they would be due in another couple of weeks or something. That will be $30 total for both girls. I will take $20 for stockpiling and the remaining $50 will go towards our baby emergency fund.
I thought about putting the remaining $50 onto the credit card debt but then decided against it as right now we have only $10 in our emergency fund. With dh and I being use to having an emergency fund up until a few months ago it is a horrible feeling realizing that you now have nothing. I need to get the baby emergency fund up to $500 so I am thinking that this upcoming pay I will try to squeeze out $100 to put in there.
I really like Dave Ramseys babystep with having a baby emergency fund while getting out of debt :).
Well, time for me to get ready for work, I picked up an extra 2 hours and 35 minutes today as I am filling in for one of the ladies for after school. YaY! Go Me! :)
Anyhow, our dds school pictures came in this past Friday and I hadn't put money aside for them , I had thought they would be due in another couple of weeks or something. That will be $30 total for both girls. I will take $20 for stockpiling and the remaining $50 will go towards our baby emergency fund.
I thought about putting the remaining $50 onto the credit card debt but then decided against it as right now we have only $10 in our emergency fund. With dh and I being use to having an emergency fund up until a few months ago it is a horrible feeling realizing that you now have nothing. I need to get the baby emergency fund up to $500 so I am thinking that this upcoming pay I will try to squeeze out $100 to put in there.
I really like Dave Ramseys babystep with having a baby emergency fund while getting out of debt :).
Well, time for me to get ready for work, I picked up an extra 2 hours and 35 minutes today as I am filling in for one of the ladies for after school. YaY! Go Me! :)
Saturday, November 3, 2007
What I am Noticing About our Debt Paydown....
Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the amount of debt owing, I think we all do at times. I am however noticing that with our determination to pay down our debt in an intense way there is more money available then we realized.Whether it is to pick up a part time job, cut back on groceries the frugal way,selling books etc on ebay, making a batch of homemade soup to put in the freezer to have as an appetizer before dinner helps to limit those 2nd helpings of meat and potatoe :)
I did end up getting a part time job at our dds school which is bringing in roughly $450 extra a month durring the school year. It depends on how many extra shifts I can pick up besides my 80 minutes per day on what my take home pay is and whether there are school holidays etc but all in all that is what it will average out to, at least that is what I have figured.
I am just amazed however at how creative one can get. We use to have our chip and pop night on a friday or saturday night, now it is air popped popcorn with some melted butter and a glass of juice.We no longer rent cheap movies, we see what is schedualed on t.v that night or swap a movie with a friend. There is no more dreading walking to work for me anymore (well most times lol) now it is hey! it doesn't take me 30 to 35 minutes to walk to work now, instead it only takes me 20 minutes! :), yes I am even getting in shape! Although once the snow hits we will see how I feel lol.
Instead of focusing on what I "could" have I am focusing on what I "Do" have. I try to always stay cheerful and have a warm smile to offer.Have you ever noticed how this can be so contagious? Just one smile will put a smile on someone else :). Yes, sometimes I do have the feeling of being overwhelmed by debt and among other things but I am finding that they are becoming few and far between and I have this inner peace of appreciating the "little" things in life more than I ever have before.
I did end up getting a part time job at our dds school which is bringing in roughly $450 extra a month durring the school year. It depends on how many extra shifts I can pick up besides my 80 minutes per day on what my take home pay is and whether there are school holidays etc but all in all that is what it will average out to, at least that is what I have figured.
I am just amazed however at how creative one can get. We use to have our chip and pop night on a friday or saturday night, now it is air popped popcorn with some melted butter and a glass of juice.We no longer rent cheap movies, we see what is schedualed on t.v that night or swap a movie with a friend. There is no more dreading walking to work for me anymore (well most times lol) now it is hey! it doesn't take me 30 to 35 minutes to walk to work now, instead it only takes me 20 minutes! :), yes I am even getting in shape! Although once the snow hits we will see how I feel lol.
Instead of focusing on what I "could" have I am focusing on what I "Do" have. I try to always stay cheerful and have a warm smile to offer.Have you ever noticed how this can be so contagious? Just one smile will put a smile on someone else :). Yes, sometimes I do have the feeling of being overwhelmed by debt and among other things but I am finding that they are becoming few and far between and I have this inner peace of appreciating the "little" things in life more than I ever have before.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Well, the plan has changed, I don't know what else to do.
We owe our mortgage broker which we had made arrangements with him to pay him the money we owe him after the hotel was paid in full with this move and all. Our mortgage broker is a Great Guy :).
Dh received an email at work yesterday from our broker stating that he has a family emergency and needs his money ASAP. That is $1700. The only thing in which I could think of doing is to call our mortgage company and skip this months mortgage payment which is due on the 6th of November, we also asked them to please change our payment due dates from the 6th to the 1st of each month. We have never done this before with skipping a mortgage payment.
With my paycheque of $300 and dh pay of $900 that will give our mortgage broker $1200 and leave us with a balance of $500 left owing to our broker. We can then pay him off in full out of our next paycheques on the 16th of November.
I just think of the extra interest on the mortgage this is going to cost us in the long haul so I will have to make that up. Once our debt is paid off I want to start plugging away at the mortgage. Even if we put an extra $250 a month onto the principle that would be a start.
Well, I can foresee many more no spend days in our future :).
Dh received an email at work yesterday from our broker stating that he has a family emergency and needs his money ASAP. That is $1700. The only thing in which I could think of doing is to call our mortgage company and skip this months mortgage payment which is due on the 6th of November, we also asked them to please change our payment due dates from the 6th to the 1st of each month. We have never done this before with skipping a mortgage payment.
With my paycheque of $300 and dh pay of $900 that will give our mortgage broker $1200 and leave us with a balance of $500 left owing to our broker. We can then pay him off in full out of our next paycheques on the 16th of November.
I just think of the extra interest on the mortgage this is going to cost us in the long haul so I will have to make that up. Once our debt is paid off I want to start plugging away at the mortgage. Even if we put an extra $250 a month onto the principle that would be a start.
Well, I can foresee many more no spend days in our future :).
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